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Wyatt half-century, Bell and Moore three-fors as Superchargers fall well short

Matt Roller27-Aug-2023Anya Shrubsole signed off from professional cricket by lifting the Hundred trophy at Lord’s, captaining Southern Brave to their first title in their third final. After successive defeats to Oval Invincibles, they comprehensively outplayed Northern Superchargers in front of a record 21,636 crowd at Lord’s.Brave’s batting let them down in their first two finals and they were 8 for 2 after nine balls on Sunday, Smriti Mandhana and Maia Bouchier falling cheaply after Superchargers opted to bowl first. But they recovered to set a target of 140, Danni Wyatt making 59 off 38 and Freya Kemp contributing an invaluable 31 off 17 from No. 5.Lauren Bell struck twice in her first eight balls in Brave’s defence, including removing Superchargers’ leading run-scorer Phoebe Litchfield who was well caught by Kemp at deep cover-point, and Superchargers were always behind the game.Rhianna Southby, Brave’s 22-year-old wicketkeeper, has played a crucial role for them despite not facing a ball this season: she effected three stumpings in the chase, and finished the Hundred with a tournament-high 11 dismissals.Jemimah Rodrigues opened the batting for Superchargers and was starved of the strike: when she was caught at extra cover for 24, she had faced just 14 of the first 73 balls bowled. Bell and Kalea Moore took three wickets each, and the winning moment came when Bell whipped off the bails to run No. 11 Grace Ballinger out after a mix-up.Shrubsole had been due to bowl the final five balls but Superchargers were bowled out with six to spare. Having left international cricket after last year’s World Cup, she opted to play on as Brave captain this year and her impending retirement has been a source of motivation for the squad throughout the season, who were determined to send her off with a trophy.Shrubsole looked uncharacteristically emotional in the aftermath of the final wicket, and admitted her overwhelming emotion was one of relief. “We feel like we’ve played some brilliant cricket,” she said, “coming into this we’d won 20 out of 25 games which is an unbelievable record. Not to have won the trophy was tough to take so it felt like this was just deserts.”For Charlotte Edwards, their coach, this was a third short-form trophy this year, after success in the Women’s Premier League with Mumbai Indians and with Southern Vipers in the Charlotte Edwards Cup. Brave have been the best team across the three seasons of the Hundred, and lifted an overdue trophy as the fireworks were set off at Lord’s.Danni Wyatt notched the first half-century in a Women’s Hundred final•ECB via Getty Images

After walking around the boundary from the stage in the Compton Stand, Shrubsole was given a guard of honour by both teams as she walked back towards the pavilion, holding the H-shaped trophy aloft as she did so. It was a fitting send-off for a great of England women’s cricket.Mandhana hit the first ball of the final for four through point but slashed the second to gully, and when Bouchier skied Kate Cross to extra cover, they were forced to rebuild through Wyatt and Georgia Adams.They had 45 off the first 43 balls of the final before Wyatt cut loose with back-to-back boundaries off Lucy Higham, at which point Superchargers became ragged in the field. Wyatt, who finished the tournament as leading run-scorer, swept Higham for four to bring up a 35-ball 50 and lofted Georgia Wareham for the first six of the game.She was primed to accelerate at the death when she was on the wrong end of a freak dismissal: Adams drove the ball straight back at her at the non-striker’s end as she started to take a run, and Cross executed a simple run-out as it popped up into her hands. When Adams holed out to midwicket after a chancy 27 off 28, Superchargers had an opening.But Kemp added 31 with a streaky cameo, hitting five boundaries to keep Brave on track. She eventually chopped Cross’ cutter onto her stumps; while Cross fumbled both a catch and a run-out chance off the penultimate ball, she was the pick of Superchargers’ attack with 3 for 21 off her 20.Bell thought she had struck with the first ball of the chase, trapping Marie Kelly on the pad only for her to successfully review the on-field decision. It hardly mattered: Kelly was dismissed by the next delivery she faced, with the ball ricocheting off her pad and onto the base of the stumps.When Litchfield lofted into the deep, Brave had two early wickets and were in control of the game. Southby’s sharp work gave Moore a wicket with her first ball, stumping Hollie Armitage, and her fast hands accounted for Bess Heath soon after, Chloe Tryon making amends for a drop on the square-leg boundary by beating her on the outside edge.Shrubsole had Alice Davidson-Richards lbw to leave Superchargers five down, and a brilliant catch by Bouchier – running in off the long-on boundary, then diving forwards at full stretch – meant Rodrigues was their last hope. Having tried and failed to build partnerships by knocking singles, she looked to loft Moore over extra cover but picked Adams out.Southby pulled off her third stumping as Leah Dobson charged Moore and missed, and Bell administered the last rites, having Higham caught at short fine leg then completing a straightforward run-out at the bowler’s end to cue the celebrations.

“Didn’t you say before [the BPL] that Barishal is the ‘team of the old’?” Mushfiqur hits back after they make the final

Mohammad Isam29-Feb-2024Mushfiqur Rahim has hit back at the criticism of Bangladesh’s senior cricketers, saying great team performances in T20 cricket require experienced hands as much they do the fearlessness of youth.Mushfiqur, 36, pointed towards the success of Fortune Barishal, who beat Rangpur Riders in the second Qualifier on Wednesday to make it to the final of BPL 2024. Apart from Mushfiqur (36), Barishal have two more players older than 35: Mahmudullah (37) and Shoaib Malik (41). All three have chipped in with important contributions during the season.”Didn’t you say before the tournament that Barishal is the ‘team of the old’?” Mushfiqur said. “Didn’t you say that T20s can’t be won with experience? I think this is a wrong concept. You need experience in every format. New players will come, the older ones will go, but they will combine well to build the team. We want to leave a legacy, and we want the likes of [Towhid] Hridoy and Tamim [Tanzid Hasan] to leave a legacy when they become senior players [for Bangladesh]. It is supposed to be smooth sailing.”Related

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Mushfiqur made a call for fitness and performance to be given preference over age when considering players.”It [the criticism] doesn’t motivate me,” he said. “It hurts me. I can guarantee you that I am better than most players in terms of fitness. I can write it down. More than age, I think the criteria should be fitness and performance. Age is just a number.”All three matches between Barishal and Rangpur this season were billed as Shakib Al Hasan vs Tamim Iqbal battles, with crowds booing both players on several occasions. The pair’s differences first came to light last year when BCB president Nazmul Hassan said Shakib and Tamim were not on speaking terms. When Tamim retired, unretired and then resigned from ODI captaincy, Shakib slammed Tamim in a TV interview.They both deserved better, Mushfiqur said. “To be honest, if the limelight is on the two players, then the rest of us can relax. They will have their ‘war’, and we will watch. They are both legends. They have given a lot to Bangladesh cricket. This [a form of booing in Bengali] chant, if they have to hear it, the rest of us should be buried in the ground.”Mushfiqur also added that he was pleased with Bangladeshi players dominating the BPL batting and bowling charts.”It is a positive sign. The top five run-getters and [four of the top five] wicket-takers are all from Bangladesh. Such consistency doesn’t happen by chance. If we can deliver in crunch moments, it means we have cool nerves. Such a thing is helpful for the cricketer and his team.”

Dani Gregory takes three wickets to derail Sunrisers in run chase

ECB Reporters Network14-Jul-2024The South East Stars coasted to a 44-run win over the Sunrisers in the Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Beckenham on Sunday.The Stars were bowled out for 258, after an innings dominated by a record-breaking 148-run partnership between Bryony Smith, who made 84, and Alice Davidson-Richards, who hit 70. Jodi Grewcock took 3 for 43, while Mady Villiers, Grace Scrivens and Eva Gray claimed two wickets apiece.The visitors had looked well set on 88 for 1, but once Jo Gardner was out for 39 they subsided to 214 all out with Dani Gregory taking 3 for 47 and Smith 2 for 31. Alice Macleod was the top scorer with 44.The hosts chose to bat under heavy skies but suffered a double blow when Villiers took two wickets in three balls. Phoebe Franklin was caught for five at deep mid-wicket by Florence Miller, before Paige Scholfield was lbw for a second-ball duck.The Stars responded with a their highest ever List A third-wicket stand, a watchful, patient partnership between two senior players. Smith was dropped on 13 and 73, but played a low-risk innings, until she brought up her 50 by smashing Villiers back over her head for six.Davidson-Richards reached the same landmark by smearing a full toss from Gray over cow corner but she was caught by Gardner at long-on off Grewcock. The same combination saw off Emma Jones for 2, before Smith was stumped off Grewcock by Amara Carr.Aylish Cranstone was then run out by Flo Miller for 21, but Ryana MacDonald-Gay injected some urgency into the innings with 37, 20 of which came from a single over before Scrivens had her caught by Grewcock. Eva Gray then took two wickets in three balls, yorking Kalea Moore for 4 and trapping Dani Gregory lbw for a second-ball duck.Dani Gregory took three wickets to derail Sunrisers•Getty Images for Surrey CCC

Chloe Hill was stranded on 21 not out when Tilly Corteen-Coleman swiped Scrivens to Villiers, with one ball of the innings remaining.The Sunrisers lost Scrivens early on, when Franklin got her for 11, caught by Jones on the boundary, but they hit back with a stand worth 75 between Macleod and Gardner that ate up 19 overs until Gregory bowled the former with a ball that spun back and hit middle. Up until that point the visitors had looked slight favourites but a cluster of wickets left them struggling to cope with the run rate.Jones struck in the first over after the drinks break when Grewcock pulled her to Scholfield at midwicket and Moore then bowled Villiers for 1. Smith claimed the key wicket of Gardner for 39 from 74 balls and then got Amu Surenkumar for 11, both lbw.Gregory then struck twice in successive overs. Miller tried to sweep her and was caught by MacDonald-Gay for 11, before Carr lofted her to Aylish Cranstone 20.Brilliant work by Moore saw Sophie Munro out for 12 and although the Stars were denied a bonus point win was sealed when the last-wicket duo of Gray and Kate Coppack took the score past 206, the result was secured when MacDonald-Gay cleaned up the latter for five.The result sees the Stars leapfrog their opponents in the table and the competition now pauses for the Hundred.

One of Australia’s best young cricketers, Sam Konstas, has announced himself on the domestic stage, hitting his maiden Sheffield Shield century for NSW.

AAP08-Oct-2024Teenage prodigy Sam Konstas has announced himself on the big stage, striking a coming-of-age century for New South Wales against South Australia in Sydney.Konstas went to his maiden century on day one of the Blues’ Sheffield Shield season opener, hitting 152 as the hosts went to stumps on 297 for 7 against South Australia at Cricket Central.One of the leading lights of Australia’s U19 World Cup success last year, Konstas has long been touted as one of the country’s best young talents. And the opener showed why on Tuesday.The 19-year-old cover-drove superbly throughout his innings, and took to spinner Ben Manenti by hitting him down the ground for three sixes. He then brought up his century off his 163rd ball in the final over of the second session, nudging Brendan Doggett down to backward-square for a single. Konstas’ first Sheffield Shield ton came with Australia’s chief selector George Bailey in attendance. And while the right-hander is not yet in the conversation for the Test opening spot, good judges expect him to one day figure.Konstas made his Shield debut for NSW last summer, and amid glimpses of promise he brought up a maiden half-century in the last round against Queensland. But he looks a far more accomplished and confident batter this summer.He used his feet well to spin, and swept Nathan McSweeney for a big six before offering up his only chance with a missed stumping by Alex Carey.The youngster then brought up 150 by flat-batting a Lloyd Pope full toss over the legside. He was eventually caught at slip off the legspinner, when adjudged to have inside-edged a ball onto Carey’s legs before it was caught by McSweeney.”It was an amazing achievement. Obviously, it’s good to get my first one,” Konstas said. “I just have to be hungry for runs. And whatever teams I make, it’s a bonus.”With Shane Watson as his mentor, Konstas is a regular meditator before games and rushes to the wicket at the start of his innings.”A big thing [I learned from last summer] was my mental stuff, just keeping simple plans and how can I do it for longer?” Konstas said. “I try to be calm.”I did [meditate] this morning, and then I was trying to do that on the field. Just breathing and using it to switch me on and off.”It worked today.”Konstas’ runs came as wickets fell around him under heavy cloud cover and light drizzle. Moises Henriques (five) and Matthew Gilkes (10) both fell to loose shots outside off stump, while Nic Maddinson was caught charging Manenti on 12.Oliver Davies provided some brief fireworks before being bowled by Jordan Buckingham for 37, while Josh Philippe hit 56 in his first Shield game for the Blues.Philippe was eventually stumped off Pope, as the South Australia spinner finished the day with 3 for 61 and NSW suffered a collapse of 3 for 17. Umpires called off play shortly after due to bad light, infuriating visiting captain McSweeney given he had kept his spinners bowling.

India’s head coach dismisses talk of his team having an “undue advantage” in the Champions Trophy

Sidharth Monga04-Mar-2025It comes with the territory that everything around India gets magnified, be it good or bad. Barely a press conference has gone by during this Champions Trophy where India’s supposed advantage has not been spoken about.Because of geopolitical issues, India haven’t travelled to the host nation, Pakistan, and have played all their matches – which will now include the final – in Dubai, while other teams have had to travel within Pakistan and then to Dubai to play India. It has been suggested that India benefited on two fronts: that their squad had fewer bases to cover, and that they had a chance to get used to one square unlike any other team in the competition. Coach Gautam Gambhir must have been really annoyed at such insinuations, and dismissed any such talk emphatically even when not directly asked about it.Gambhir was asked if India knew about the conditions in Dubai when they picked five spinners in their squad, three of them allrounders of varying capability. Gambhir came off the long run in response, taking aim at “perpetual cribbers”.Related

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“See, first of all, this is as neutral a venue for us as it is for any other team,” Gambhir said. “We have not played here. I don’t remember when last we played here. And in fact, we didn’t plan anything like that. The plan was that if you pick two frontline spinners in the 15-man squad, then even if we played in Pakistan or anywhere, we would have picked two frontline spinners because this was a competition in the subcontinent.”So it’s not like we wanted to spin a spinners’ web. If you look at it, we only played one frontline spinner in the first two matches. We played two frontline spinners in this match and the previous match.”And there’s a lot of debate about the undue advantage and all that. What undue advantage? We haven’t practised here even for one day. We’re practising at the ICC academy. And the conditions there and here are 180 degrees different. Some people are just perpetual cribbers, man. They’ve got to grow up. I feel that there was nothing like we had any undue advantage.”It is fair to say the vanquished captain Steven Smith is not one of those perpetual cribbers. He played down any advantage for India in the lead-up to the match, and was asked again about it afterwards.2:32

Do India have an unfair advantage at the Champions Trophy?

“Yeah, look, I’m not buying into it,” Smith said. “I think it is what it is. India obviously played some really good cricket here. The surface kind of suits their style with the spinners that they’ve got and the seamers that they have at their disposal for a wicket like that. They played well, they outplayed us, and they deserve the victory.”However, the tournament’s top wicket-taker, Mohammed Shami, did say the familiarity of playing at the same ground has helped him. It doesn’t mean that what he said directly contradicts what Gambhir said. Gambhir had spoken glowingly about how well Shami prepares for matches. So Shami was asked about his preparations.”Main thing is to know the conditions and the behaviour of the pitch well,” Shami said. “Because you are playing at one venue, you have an opportunity to get used to the conditions properly. So, at practice, I keep things simple, and try to bowl according to the pitches for the match.”When asked if it was a benefit to be playing at the same venue, Shami said, “Definitely. Because you get to know the conditions, the behaviour of the pitch. A lot of things… the way the weather was today – cool – your brain works even more. It can be said that it is a plus point that all your matches have been played at the same venue.””What undue advantage? We haven’t practised here even for one day. We’re practising at the ICC academy. And the conditions there and here are 180 degrees different”•Associated Press

Having said all that, India’s unbeaten run into the final of another ICC event will gladden many a heart. India lost only the final in the 2023 ODI World Cup, won the T20 World Cup in 2024 without dropping a match, and have won all four of their matches in the ongoing Champions Trophy. Having been through some tough times in Test cricket recently, Gambhir rejoiced in the “flawless” performance but was wary of India getting ahead of themselves.”You used a very good word that we played ‘flawlessly’,” Gambhir said in response to a question. “I think yes, we did, but we still have one more game to go. We know that we are a good one-day side, and the most important thing is the way we’ve actually played throughout this competition. The hunger, the commitment, and the eagerness to try and do something special for the country is always there in the dressing room.”In international sport, you want to keep improving. You don’t say that you’ve ticked all the boxes. There’s always room to improve. There’s always something to improve, be it in batting, fielding, or bowling. And we still haven’t played a perfect game. We still have one more game to go. Hopefully we can play a perfect game.”And that is the kind of person I am. I will never be satisfied with the performances. We want to keep improving, we want to stay humble, we want to be ruthless on the cricket field, but absolutely humble off the field as well. That’s the kind of team environment and that’s the kind of culture we want to create in that dressing room, and be absolutely honest. So hopefully we can play one more game and play our best game.”

Glamorgan’s promotion bid encounters further resistance despite Crane taking five wickets

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay10-Sep-2025Saif Zaib continued his prolific summer, becoming the first Northamptonshire batter to score six Championship tons in a season since Lance Klusener in 2006 as he posted 145 (186 balls) on day three of this Rothesay County Championship against Glamorgan at Wantage Road.Zaib, the second leading run-scorer in Division Two, extended his overnight score of 76, smashing a total of 22 fours and two sixes as he shared a ninth-wicket partnership of 56 in 15 overs with debutant Ben Whitehouse (6 not out).Despite Mason Crane taking 5 for 126, his second five-wicket haul this season, Zaib’s innings further held up Glamorgan’s promotion hunt as Northamptonshire moved to 413 for nine, 54 runs behind, when rain ended play early after just 95 minutes. With Ben Kellaway off the field injured, part-time spinner Kiran Carlson finished with 2 for 43.Earlier heavy morning rain prevented play getting underway until 1.50pm, Northamptonshire resuming on 309 for five. New batter Aadi Sharma (25) came out determined to make up for lost time, saving the follow-on when he pulled a dragdown from Carlson for six before flicking Crane through midwicket and slog sweeping him for another maximum. Sharma’s aggression ultimately proved his downfall though as he pulled Carlson straight to the deep midwicket fielder on the side with the longer boundary.Zaib moved through the 80s as he reverse swept Carlson for four, while Lewis McManus ran a single to take Northamptonshire to 350 and secure a third batting bonus point.But McManus soon became Crane’s fifth victim when he went to cut and edged behind, Northamptonshire quickly losing an eighth wicket when Liam Guthrie was adjudged lbw to Carlson.Zaib though was undeterred, advancing closer to his century when he reverse swept Crane for four to move to 99. He turned down a single to protect Whitehouse, before crunching one straight down the pitch to reach three figures off 136 balls.Whitehouse proved an admirable foil as Zaib continued to attack the Glamorgan spinners, sweeping a full toss from Crane for four and depositing Carlson over deep midwicket for six.With the skies starting to darken, Timm van der Gugten and James Harris took the new ball under the floodlights, Zaib responding by playing a remarkable pull shot over fine leg for six.Despite Whitehouse’s stoic defence, Glamorgan’s seamers will regret not targeting his stumps more, the debutant bringing up Northamptonshire’s fourth batting bonus point when he edged Harris low through the slip cordon for four. Zaib then emphatically pulled the Glamorgan quick through midwicket to bring up the 50 partnership off 74 balls.It took a dazzling bit of fielding from sub fielder Zain ul Hassan at deep cover who initially fumbled the ball, before turning in a direct hit to run out Zaib coming back for a second run without putting in a dive to ground his bat.With the rain returning shortly afterwards, the players took an early tea, but hopes of a resumption at 5.30pm were dashed by further downpours.

Seamer received no assurances about selection before being named in New Zealand’s provisional World Cup squad

Matt Roller12-Sep-2023Trent Boult is “very happy” to be back playing international cricket ahead of the World Cup in India, but said that New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had never given him any guarantees about selection for the tournament when he negotiated a release from his central contract last year.Boult won his 100th ODI cap in New Zealand’s defeat to England at the Ageas Bowl on Sunday, taking 3 for 37 to mark his first international appearance since last year’s T20 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan. Hours later, his name was included in the provisional 15-man squad announced by New Zealand for next month’s 50-over World Cup.”It was great to be back in familiar surroundings,” Boult said ahead of Wednesday’s third ODI at The Oval. “It was a very good feeling, chucking back on the black ODI kit – and on the side, the individual milestone of 100 games added to that feeling as well.”When Boult stepped away from his central contract last year, he did not seek or expect assurances from NZC about selection for the World Cup but made his ambitions to play in the tournament clear, telling ESPNcricinfo earlier this year that he had “a big desire” to return to the ODI fold.Related

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“Your spot is never guaranteed, and the decision was made over a year ago,” Boult said. “I decided to step aside and fully appreciated that giving my contract back would open the door to other players to come through. Selections were prioritised for the contracted 20 [players] in New Zealand and I fully appreciated that.”The decision was solely made around time away… with a young family, I couldn’t travel as much. It just became too hard. I prioritised my time with them and gave myself a chance to play some cricket around to world, to see what I could learn.”Selection for the World Cup was never guaranteed and I was never expecting it to be. I had to work for it and I’m very happy to be here. I just hope I can add value and take the tournament very deep, like we have in the last couple of attempts. I feel like we can really push this tournament to the final stages and give it a good crack.”New Zealand were runners-up in the last two 50-over World Cups and Boult admitted he still finds it hard to let the tied 2019 final go. “What was probably a little bit hard was coming back, after a year, to play for New Zealand, and it’s a rain delay and it’s the only game playing on the big screens at the ground,” he joked. “That pushed me a little bit.”The ODI World Cup is that big tournament that everyone wants to be a part of. I’ve been part of a couple so far and although there seems to be a world event every year, this ODI World Cup has always got a special feeling around it… once we touch down in India, I’m sure the feelings will be pretty strong with a lot of excitement.”

Scorchers had reached 30 for 2 after 6.5 overs when umpires stopped play to inspect the pitch, with the fixture abandoned soon afterwards.

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2023Melbourne Renegades’ Big Bash League clash with Perth Scorchers has been abandoned after 6.5 overs because of safety concerns over a water-damaged pitch.The ground staff in Geelong worked feverishly on Sunday to dry the pitch after heavy rain crept under the covers overnight. Renegades captain Nic Maddinson declared the pitch still “absolutely drenched” at the toss and sent the Scorchers in to bat.Scorchers had reached 30 for 2 after 6.5 overs when umpires stopped play to inspect the pitch, with the fixture abandoned soon afterwards.In a statement, Cricket Australia said: “CA will conduct a thorough review into the extremely frustrating circumstances that have resulted in the game being abandoned and a huge disappointment for fans and players.”The decision to abandon the game came after concerns from batters over inconsistent bounce and extravagant seam movement, in particular from the Scorchers’ Josh Inglis. At the time, Aaron Hardie was unbeaten on 20 off 23, while Inglis was not out on 3 off 7.”That last delivery we saw behave quite uncharacteristically and in our minds we thought it behaved dangerously so that was the reason for coming off,” umpire Ben Treloar told .”When we initially started we saw the pitch, we had a good look at it, [but] until you start playing on it sometimes these things don’t present themselves. After the first few overs we were quite hopeful it was going to be okay but then it started to go south and that last one was enough for us to consider it dangerous.”Ashton Turner, Perth Scorchers’ captain, said there were doubts over the surface before the game began but it was worth trying to get a game played.”Start of the day we knew there were some doubts over the wicket but credit to both teams, we made a fair go of it,” he said. “We had enough evidence to call the game off and think the umpires made a really difficult decision, but probably the right decision”There were definitely question marks over the nature of the wicket but think we needed to try and make something happen. Fortunately no one got hurt and the playing conditions say that no one has to get hurt to call it off which I think is common sense.”He added that officials perhaps needed to look for ways that a game could still carry on when a situation such as this develops.”Think we need some flexibility with the playing conditions,” he said. “I’ve heard ideas floated about whether we can play from one end, no doubt there is a way that we could get a game of cricket but we need some flexibility with the playing conditions to allow that.”Renegades veteran Aaron Finch told the broadcast that deliveries had taken “big divots” out of the surface.”Josh Inglis said it felt dangerous when he was batting,” Finch said. “It’s just bouncing ridiculously. If that’s bouncing on line with someone’s body or their head, then that could [cause] some real issues.”It’s hard to say [if it’s too dangerous] when nobody’s been hit but you don’t want to wait for somebody to get seriously injured.”In a statement, Melbourne Renegades said: “On Sunday morning, the club was made aware that the GMHBA Stadium pitch sustained some water damage during Saturday’s heavy rain. Kardinia Park Stadium Trust undertook work throughout the day to improve the condition of the wicket and match officials deemed the surface safe to commence play.Renegades general manager James Rosengarten added: “Our first thoughts are with our fans – the loyal supporters we have across Geelong and Victoria. We are incredibly disappointed in tonight’s events.”We had an important match against the Scorchers and our fans have a right to feel incredibly let down. It should have been a great night of cricket and we will discuss the outcomes of that in the days ahead. The club will ensure that all general public ticket purchasers are refunded”

Maynard had previously expressed frustration at losing white-ball coaching role at club

Matt Roller14-Sep-2023Matthew Maynard has quit his job as Glamorgan’s red-ball coach, with a high-scoring draw against Yorkshire this week leaving the club destined for a mid-table finish in Division Two of the County Championship.Maynard signed a two-year contract with Glamorgan last year specifically for the Championship, after being relieved of his role as white-ball coach against his wishes. With the club now out of promotion contention heading into the final two weeks of the 2023 season, he has resigned with a year left on his contract.In an interview with BBC Sport Wales, Maynard said that he had been frustrated with Glamorgan’s failure to sign “a match-winning spinner” since his appointment as head coach in 2019, which has contributed to them drawing 11 of their 13 Championship fixtures this season.”I feel very rewarded with the time I’ve had here but there are certain frustrations as well,” he said. “Maybe a little bit [in results] but I’ve been after a match-winning spinner since I’ve come here, there’ve been a couple available in that time that we didn’t get.”Maynard was unhappy to lose his role as white-ball coach last year and noted that the club had struggled again under Mark Alleyne, who took over for the T20 Blast. “I fully understand our results weren’t what they could have been, but they weren’t this year [either],” Maynard said.”I love being involved in white-ball cricket,” he added. “It’s a different kind of satisfaction. You get great highs and lows, and I miss that. l love the Championship but I also want to do white-ball cricket and that opportunity isn’t available to me at Glamorgan.”Alleyne was due to coach Glamorgan in the One Day Cup this year but instead joined up with Welsh Fire in the Hundred as one of Mike Hussey’s assistants – ironically, alongside Maynard – and handed over to assistant coach David Harrison in the 50-over competition.Mark Wallace, Glamorgan’s director of cricket, said in a club statement: “There are very few more recognisable and influential figures associated with Glamorgan Cricket than Matthew Maynard and his input as head coach over his two terms in the role has been significant.”Though Matthew is stepping down as head coach, we are hopeful of retaining his expertise at Glamorgan in some capacity moving forward as we continue to try and develop players in Wales to the best of their abilities.”Hugh Morris, the club’s outgoing chief executive, said: “It was a pleasure to play and work with Matt and, on behalf of the club, I would like to thank him for his exceptional service and wish him well for the future.”

The West Indies legspinner was struck in the face while training

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2023West Indies legspinner Yannic Cariah has undergone a surgery to repair a fracture in his nose. He suffered the injury when he was struck in the face during a training session on Saturday on the eve of West Indies’ first game of the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe.The surgery took place in Harare yesterday, and Cariah will remain with the squad under the care of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) medical team, the board said in a statement.CWI said that a decision on when he will be available to play again will be made in the next few days based on how he recovers.Related

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West Indies assistant coach Floyd Reifer was also struck in the face during training on Wednesday and underwent a similar procedure. He will continue his coaching duties while under the supervision of the medical team, the board said.Led by Shai Hope, West Indies have started their World Cup qualifying campaign with two wins and are all but in the Super Sixes stage.In their first game, West Indies successfully defended 297 against USA.Then, against Nepal, centuries from Hope and Nicholas Pooran laid the platform for a 101-run thrashing.They take on Zimbabwe in their next game, tomorrow, and then face Netherlands in their last game of the group stage on Monday.